Hakushaku to Yousei - Volume 14 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 ♦ The guided trap

It was late at night and yet there was the sound of knocking at the door.
In bed and still half-asleep, Lydia opened her eyes blearily.
The cautious knocking on the door came once more.
“Lydia, are you awake?”
“Eh? Edgar....?”
Why was he here in the middle of the night?
Lydia hastily got up, pulled on a gown, and headed towards the door.
Careful in not making a sound, she opened the door to see Edgar smiling at her. He was also in a gown, so he shouldn’t he be already been heading to bed, but coming over now, what was so urgent?
Could it be...... As soon as Lydia thought this, she immediately shut the door.
“Edgar... you can’t, th--that sort of thing...”
“No, I didn’t come for a night attack, can you come out for a minute?”
“Really?”
Lydia asked doubtfully.
“It’s true. I saw fairies dancing outside the window, so I wanted to tell you.”
Hearing a mention of fairies, Lydia opened the door again.
“As long as you’re willing, I can turn this into a night attack...... um, I was joking.”
Lydia was going to shut the door again, so Edgar quickly grabbed onto the door knob.
He beckoned to Lydia.
“Come quickly, I want you to see and determine whether or not there really are fairies.”
Lydia felt his childlike excitement as she headed up the corridor.
She was lured into Edgar’s room. She had thought that perhaps this wasn’t good, but he had called her over so innocently, so she felt like her wariness was a little foolish, and headed towards the window.
Looking out from the room without lights, dim ridges of hills could be seen, forming boundaries between the earth and sky. On top of the levelled hill, fairies were dancing in circles.
“It’s fairies! Edgar, the fairies are really there.”
Delighted, Lydia leaned out of the window.
“It really is beautiful. I haven’t seen this in a long time.”
“That’s great, just as you said, if I imagine it, then I can see it.”
The two of them leaned by the window, their shoulders touching. Lydia’s heart skipped a beat, but Edgar seemed captivated by the fairies’ dance, gazing at the hills the whole time.
She started to relax, immersing herself in the slight, comforting touch. If it was only at this level, she wouldn’t feel shy or feel like she was in danger.
While watching the fairies dancing, with the help of the sleepiness, Lydia unknowingly leaned on Edgar’s shoulder, resting her head against his body.
“Don’t you think that I have good self-control tonight?”
“What?”
“Because right now, I’m fighting the urge of wanting to take you to bed. I feel as if I am almost unable to stop myself, it’s rare that you’re so relaxed, yet there’s no way for me to even give you a kiss.”
Lydia quickly wanted to move her head away, but Edgar pulled her shoulders over. Lydia was embraced tightly by both of his arms around her, so she was unable to move.
His hands that were intertwined below her breasts, she could feel the heat penetrate through the gown.
She was not wearing a corset, so she felt particularly uneasy. Though they were both clothed, she felt as if their skin was touching.
The two of them were close enough that they were practically able to feel each others’ heartbeat and breathing. Was Edgar aware of how fast Lydia’s heart was beating?
“Don’t be so nervous, I just want to stay like this for awhile.”
Edgar was gentle as he said and carefully embraced Lydia, which caused her shyness slowly fade away.
“I’m glad I came to your hometown.”
“...Is that so? But there is nothing here.”

“Even if it’s a little bit,  I want to know who you were before I met you. The scenery you saw, the people you’ve corresponded with, the memories between you and your mother, it’s as if these will be precious to me.”
Whenever he was too gentle, Lydia was a little afraid.
Could she believe that such a warm moment would last forever?
“Hey, Edgar, shouldn’t we inform your parents of the engagement?”
Although she was always concerned about it, Lydia wasn’t able to ask before.
Edgar’s parents were killed, and he too was already considered dead. The land where he was born and raised in, he no longer has a relationship or connection with it.
Although his parents’ tomb surely exist, Edgar’s name and his past had been buried. The bones of an unknown child were also buried together.
Was it because he still not able to sort out his feelings, that he wasn’t ready to visit their grave?
This was why Lydia had always been unable to ask such a question. However, since he was thinking fondly of Lydia’s hometown, it would be impossible to not be reminded of his own.
“Right now... I cannot go.”
Although he answered very decisively, he sounded like he was in pain. Lydia felt pain in her chest too.
“But there will inevitably be a day where I’ll let you see. I want to walk together with you in Sylvainford’s beautiful forest.”
Lydia moved her neck slightly and saw sad but strong eyes full of determination looking back at her.

                                                                                                                      *

At dawn, Edgar took advantage of the time when the morning mist was still drifting about and left the Carlton house, heading towards the outskirts of the town.
The only person he took with him was Raven. 
They weaved their way through the fields of wheat, the goal being the menhir that towered over the overgrown wheat field.
They almost reached a distance where even if Brian and Patrick were waiting for someone to attack, it wouldn’t be unusual. 
Today, there was going to be a duel within the visible range of those menhir. 
It was unknown whether they intended to kill Edgar or capture him to get information about Prince. But if Edgar were to win, he would surely be able to know many things relating to the Prophet.
There was certainly a chance at succeeding. Brian and Patrick don’t know of Raven’s fighting capability. Unless they were aimed at by a rifle from far away, a surprise attack was unlikely. 
However, whether it would be against the half-fairy Brian, or Patrick the fairy doctor, they probably wouldn’t use guns. Rather, it was best to be cautious of magic.
“Lord Edgar, something is coming.”
There were unknown, moaning-like sounds were heard. What seemed like black clouds had appeared and were creeping towards them in the air. 
A swarm of insects?
In the instant he thought that, Edgar could no longer see anything. 
Raven acted quickly.
As soon as he plunged into the overgrown area of wheat, indistinct screams were immediately heard.
As Raven sat on top of the person who collapsed onto the ground with a thud, long orange hair could be fleetingly seen. The reason why the bugs suddenly scattered in all directions, like a mist dispersing, was probably because Brian had lost consciousness.
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, Edgar sensed the presence of someone behind him.
He avoided the sudden thrust of a saber. Patrick distanced himself from Edgar, who turned around, but Edgar already had a pistol gripped in his hand and assumed a defensive position, ready to attack.
However, he wasn’t able to aim at his target. Patrick’s figure went blurry, then it began to shake into two figures, three and then they overlapped. 
“Is it a fake?”
“Lord Edgar, please be careful!”
Hearing Raven’s voice, Edgar looked back to see several Brians surrounding him.
Raven was already battling with them. 
Then, Edgar opened fire. Brian and Patrick’s divided figures emitted lights before disappearing after being hit by bullets one after another. But the number of them hadn’t lessened. They advanced slowly, narrowing the circle.
“Arrow, the sword!”
In the moment Edgar summoned at the sword, it materialized before him. He took hold of the sword. 
This was a sword that could kill fairies. Considering the fact that those divided bodies were possibly fairies, the sword could certainly become an effective weapon.
But Edgar was hesitant to use it. Using the sword meant drawing out the evil magic that the sword possessed. Could this power be used so easily? 
If it was possible, the seelie should not be killed. This idea was also in mind.
Just as he was caught up in his worries, the doppelgangers before him dispersed all at once,  the shining small goblins ran in all directions, and the black demon dogs burst in, chasing after them. 
Accepting help from Ulysses’ subordinates wasn’t his original intention, but right now, he had no time to pay attention to them.
Where was the real Patrick? And Brian?
Edgar quickly glanced around and spotting Brian next to the menhir, he ran after him.
The moment he tried grabbing onto Brian, the ground under his feet collapsed. 
A cave appeared, intending to swallow Edgar. While he was falling, he grabbed Brian’s arm.
He pulled Brian down with him.
“Let go.... whoa!”
Hearing Brian’s screams, Edgar felt as if he was falling for a long time.

After coming to his senses, he discovered he was lying in a cavern-like place.
Although he had fallen, he did not seem injured, nor was there pain anywhere. His hands touched the ground, feeling what seemed to be moist soil. Surrounded by darkness, Edgar guessed that he ought to be in a cave, but in reality, he wasn’t too sure.
This place probably wasn’t in the human world.
“H--help me......”
A voice was coming from somewhere. Just as he thought this, the voice overlapped with the sound of growling dogs. Even the demon dogs fell down too?
“Edgar, you’re here, right? Ahh, damn!”
“Brian, where are you?”
“Over here!”
“I can’t see anything.”
He heard the other click his tongue, followed by the lighting up of the surroundings.
Brian’s long hair emitted a faint glow. He had fallen to the ground, and was desperately pushing demon dogs away in order for his throat to not be pierced by their fangs.
“D-didn’t I ask you to hurry up and save me!”
“Do I have an obligation to save you?”
“...You want to know about the Prophet, right?”
“Is that information of equal value to your life?”
“You.... don’t you want to know Lydia’s... the Prophet’s fiancée’s true role?”
True role?
Edgar held the sword firmly.
“Ohh please be sure to let me know.”
“Hurry up...!”
Brian shouted anxiously. Holding the sword, Edgar approached the demon dogs.
“Hey, release him!”
The ears of the demon dogs twitched slightly, but they did not obey Edgar’s words. Although they did not attack Edgar, it was very possible that they were only willing to obey Ulysses or the black demon dog who had the position of leader.
Brian had been bitten everywhere and it seemed that he no longer had the strength.
It can’t be helped. Edgar grasped the sword once more.
The blue star sapphire became a scarlet red ruby. The sword, whose seal was already undone, would completely obey Edgar’s will.
Like this, he waved the sword.
The heads of demon dogs were cut off, filling the surroundings with the rancid stench of their black blood.
With great effort, Brian crawled out from underneath the enormous hairy bodies, which were void of life.
“Lord Edgar, where are you?”
It was Raven’s voice.
Raven appeared from deep within the cave. He glanced at Brian, who was covered in wounds and sitting on the floor. He looked towards Edgar, probably having determined that it was unnecessary to be on guard against him. 
“Raven, you fell down as well?”
“Yes, because I was in a hurry to catch up with you.”
“What about Patrick?”
“If he was not devoured by the demon dogs, then he should be fine.”
Edgar thought of another thing, and looked down at Brian.
“Was this cave your doing? Was it a trap to catch me?”
“....Yes.”
“Then that is just great, we can simply leave with you, right?”
“W--well...... there’s no way out from the inside, if Patrick isn’t here to save us...”
Edgar took a look at Brian’s expression and snorted derisively. 
“Don’t spout out such terrible lies.”
“I--it’s true!”
“You’ll regret making me angry.”
Edgar thrust the sword in front of Brian, and he immediately turned pale with fright.
“I know!.... I know how to get out, put that away.”
Raven took ahold of Brian, leaving him no choice but to stand up reluctantly.
“Let me just say, it’s going to take a while to get out of here.”
“Then walk as you talk. What do you and Patrick plan to have Lydia do?”
“....You really are like a wolf in sheep’s clothing in front of Lydia."
Brian murmured, grimacing.
“Actually, it’s the opposite. I can only maintain my true self in front of Lydia. To be honest, being like this right now really isn’t what I wanted.”
Edgar showed off his sword while smiling. Brian seemed unconvinced, but perhaps he had given up pondering over difficult matters, so he began to answer Edgar’s question.
“We originally planned to wait until you were trapped here, then go and tell Lydia that you were kidnapped by the Prophet’s enemies. We wanted to convince her that if she wanted to save you, she only had to awaken the Prophet, and then bring her to the Hebrides.”
If that was the case, even if Patrick was alone, he would still be able to carry out the plan.
“So, what is the true role of the Prophet’s fiancée?”
“Actually, his fiancée is not selected in order to marry the Prophet. Rather the purpose is to give life to the Prophet’s necessary existence. The Prophet can be said to be deceased, and that he needs to be resurrected in order to take action in the human world.”
Astounded, Edgar continued to calmly listen. He was thinking that if Lydia had completed her role in that kind of ceremony, she would also face danger.
“That practically sounds like a sacrifice.”
“So it seems...... but the fiancée will not necessarily die as a result. The women who were chosen all possessed great vitality.”
“In that case, why are those women referred to as ‘fiancées’?”
“I think it’s probably because the selected girl must always stay by the Prophet’s side whenever he is awake. She must always stay by the Prophet’s side in order to supplement his abilities, up until he completes the mission before entering into a deep sleep again, or until that girl’s life comes to an end.”
Surprisingly, Brian was honestly telling them the truth, as he probably did not worship the Prophet.
It was said that the Prophet would save the McKeel clan from a crisis. But rather than saying that Brian was a relative of the clan, it would be better to say that under the plan for the Prophet’s existence, he was also a victim.
Although Brian possessed human blood, he was also a member of the fairy clan. In order to not let the lineage of Prophet’s fiancées diminish,  how many others were born like him in the end, an existence neither fully human nor fairy? Thinking about this, it wasn’t surprising to question it.
“Even if the ‘fiancée’ is a healthy woman, her remaining lifespan will be shortened. Because of this, there will be a second fiancé to reciprocate her sacrifice, so she can spend the rest of her life without difficulty, as compensation for her family.”
Therefore Lydia also has a second fiancée? So it’s the clan head’s son, the one named Fergus McKeel.
They once said, that man will take Lydia as his wife after she completes her mission, so there was no need to worry. So that’s the real meaning. The more Edgar understood, the more he felt angry.
Their purpose of coming to take Lydia was actually wanting her to hand her life over. To go as far as to hide such important inside information.
“But, if that’s the case, then the ‘fiancée’ doesn’t necessarily have to be a woman?”
“I think it’s because the vitality of women is stronger than that of men. Moreover, his fiancée must also be a human proficient with fairy magic. In order to not let our mixed human and fairy blood be severed off, the clansmen were forced to repeatedly conduct children exchanges.”
Lydia’s mother was a changeling as well as the Prophet’s fiancée. The reason why she left the island, was apparently because she wanted to raise an objection to this custom.
Professor Carlton had said that this was the reason that Lydia’s mother did not allow her daughter to suffer the exchange.
Brian was distressed because his younger sister was considered a changeling and brought to the human world, thus he was among those who were hurt due to the changeling traditions. However, he planned to conspire with Patrick and make Lydia, who he called his younger sister, become the clan’s tool.
Edgar could not help but feel baffled.
“You thought that Lydia was your younger sister, therefore you came to see her, and yet you planned to offer her to the Prophet? You say she is your sister, but this is a lie, right?”
Brian instantly grimaced but said indifferently:
“This is all for the McKeel clan.”
Edgar really didn’t think he said this honestly, but Brian did not continue speaking.
A pale blue light could finally be seen ahead, it seemed that the exit was approaching.
After quickly passing through what looked like a very long cavern, a lake appeared before them.
The moon, which lacked a half, floated in the air; this was the lake at night.
Even looking back, they didn’t see any features of the cave that they just came through, rather a forest obscured their sight.
“It took up so much time, didn’t it?”
“From now on, we have to start walking. This is also the fairy realm, and we seem to have come to a very distant place.”
Brian pointed to the shadow like peaks on the other side of the lake.
“This place is already in the Highlands. To return to Lydia’s small town, you must first find the shortcut to return to the human world, but going to the shortcut from here should take some more time.”
“The Highlands? Saying it as such, the Hebrides islands is very close to here?”
“It would seem so, if you want to go into the Hebrides, there’s a shortcut.”
“Then we’re changing the destination to the Hebrides.”
Brian was surprised at first, yet appeared unwilling soon after. Edgar stared at him threateningly.
“Only one thing is certain, as long as the Prophet disappears, you guys will abandon Lydia.”
Edgar was thinking. If Patrick was safe, then while they were passing through the fairy realm, he was definitely finding ways to bring Lydia to the island.
He should be in a hurry to achieve the plan before the full moon.
For Edgar, the opportunity to bury the Prophet was only during the full moon. Even if he rushed back to the small town, he was afraid it would be too late.
They had to first make a detour to the sacred land.

                                                                                                                     *

When Lydia got up in the morning, Edgar was gone, and Raven had also disappeared. Although her father had said they may have gone for a walk, would someone go for a several hour walk without having breakfast?
Also, Brian was missing.
Not knowing what the situation was at all, Lydia felt anxious and left the house to search for Edgar.
Thinking back now, last night Edgar seemed to have come to some decision.
Lydia felt that he was unusually gentle at the time, and wanted to quietly spend time together. 
Was it because Edgar anticipated that he would disappear before her?
Lydia went to various places, feeling extremely restless.
There was no sign of Edgar at the town centre or by her mother’s grave. She headed towards the outskirts, and as soon as she saw the menhir half-covered in the wheat fields, she subconsciously advanced towards there.
After she approached the menhir, she heard a sharp voice coming from the roots of the lush wheat.
(This is mine!)
(No, I found it!)
It seemed that the small goblins were fighting.
(Hand it over!)
(No!)
Lydia looked over there, wanting to ask them whether or not they saw a human......
“Hey, can I ask you guys...”
She fell speechless instantly, because she saw the silver button that the small goblins were fighting over.
Wasn’t that Edgar’s button?
“Let me see that!”
After she snatched the button from the fairy’s hand to confirm, she found the Earl family’s insignia. This was definitely Edgar’s.
(Lydia, what are you doing!)
(That’s mine!)
The two fairies angrily pulled and twisted Lydia’s hair.
“I know, I will return it to you guys, but I have something to ask. Was this found here? Did you guys see the person who dropped it?”
(It was dropped here.)
(We didn’t see anyone.)
“Then what did you guys see?”
(Black demon dogs fighting an Aurora fairy.)
Black demon dogs? Ulysses often controlled black demon dogs, and was the Aurora fairy referring to Brian?
Was Edgar being attacked by the black demon dogs and then Brian was dragged into it?
(It’s very rare to see Aurora fairies nearby.)
(It would be nice if they came a little closer, then we could’ve seen the dance of the Northern Lights.)
(It would be nice if black demon dogs did not appear.)
“So what happened after they fought?”
(They disappeared shortly after.)
Lydia got up and walked around the menhir. This place was a connection between the human world and the fairy realm. Given that the fairies disappeared, perhaps they had scattered and escaped into the fairy realm.
Was this also the case for Edgar and Brian?
Their relationship didn’t seem too good. The thought was really worrying.
(Hey, give that back to us.)
(You’ve already looked at it enough, right?)
Lydia who was urged by the smallgoblins, gently put the button down in front of them.
“Listen, don’t quarrel anymore.”
After the two fairies nodded, they each grabbed both ends of the button and disappeared on good terms.
Left alone, Lydia suddenly trembled and held onto her arms. 
Ulysses’ subordinates had appeared; was Edgar safe?
The Prince was clearly already dead, why did they still want to bother Edgar? Could it be that he can’t obtain happiness?
Holding back the urge to cry, Lydia hurried her way back home.
I have to do something, I must save Edgar.
But Nico was not here. Although Lydia was a fairy doctor, she had always relied on Nico in the past to lead the way in the fairy realm. If she went on her own to find Edgar, she might get lost and won’t be able to return.
Mother, what should I do?
She clearly knew that her mother hadn’t been home for a long time, yet Lydia ran all the way home like a child who came across a dreadful fairy.
“Father!”
As she ran to the door, she noticed her father coming out and rushed over, as if she wanted to hug him.
“What happened? Lydia, you hadn’t returned after a long time, I was planning to see what had happened to you.”
“Edgar is gone! Raven and Brian too! What should I do... they might have lost their way into the fairy realm!”
“Calm down, at any rate, come in first.”
“Apparently they were attacked by black demon dogs so I must go to the fairy realm and find them. But I don’t have the means to go very far myself, I’ll soon get lost...  ahh but I have to go...” 
“Please allow me to help you. ”
At this time, the wooden door that had been shut was pushed open, and a black-haired man appeared.
Both Lydia and her father recognized him.
It was Patrick, the fairy doctor of the McKeel clan. 

She and Patrick had met in London not long ago. He made a request at that time, wanting Lydia to save the McKeel clan, but Edgar had driven him away. 
This time, it appears that he was going to have Lydia properly listen to what he had to say, and so he paid a visit in Scotland in particular. 
He pretended to be a student of Professor Carlton’s at the University of London, asked for the professor’s home address, and then arrived in town yesterday.
“But, I saw Earl Ashenbert and Brian.”
Lydia, who was still not calm, restlessly listened to Patrick’s explanation.
Although her father awkwardly stayed in the Carlton’s reception room, but after all, Patrick had seen what happened to Edgar and the others, so he was unable to ask him to leave immediately like before.
“Mr. Patrick, you know Brian?”
“Yes, because he is a clan member. I was quite surprised that Brian had appeared in this town... putting that aside, when I saw a group of black demon dogs surrounding the menhir, I really was scared half to death. ”
Next, Patrick said that he witnessed Edgar and Brian being attacked by black demon dogs and then disappearing without a trace.
It appeared that he originally tried to go and help, as he himself had several bites inflicted on his body from them. 
Luckily, the demon dogs’ magic will become weakened in the human world, and the poison of the wound will be eliminated by sunlight, so they would probably heal very quickly. Patrick, of course knew this, so he didn’t seem too worried.
“Um, was there someone at the scene controlling the demon dogs?”
As the Prince’s matters shouldn’t be told to people who are unrelated, asking this question seemed unusual. Although Lydia knew this, she couldn’t help but ask.
Patrick’s response was unexpected.
“It seems like they weren’t in the area, but it ought to be the act of the Prophet’s enemies.”
He replied, knowing very well who was controlling the demon dogs.
“The Prophet’s.... enemies?”
“That is right, Miss Lydia.  The bottom line is that it is the ones who brought disaster upon our island.”
Could it be that those weren’t Ulysses’ demon dogs?
On the land where the McKeel clan lived, the number of unseelie court had progressively increased, thus the land’s vitality became weak. Not only was there poor harvest over many years, but livestock and humans were also infected with diseases.
In order to remedy the situation, they planned to rely on the Prophet of the legends, but the reason why crisis hit the island was apparently because the Prophet had enemies.
The Prophet preserved his strength, not because he could predict that a crisis would happen to the clan in the future, but because he knew his ‘enemies’ would appear at some point.
“Brian is the last of the Philis Chyris* to be descended from the McKeel. He knows the location of the sacred land where the Prophet lies dormant, and can enter that land. Perhaps he was kidnapped as a result.”
Lydia interrupted his thoughts, looking up to ask a question.
“Um, is he the only one? Isn’t there also his family and other descendants of changelings?”
“They were hunted by the Sluaghs.* The only survivors were him and the elder, but that elder died soon after. The elder might have persuaded him to live with the Aurora fairies in the sky.”
Sluaghs. If Aurora fairies were light spirits who dwelled in the night sky, then the Sluaghs were pure dark souls. Both sides were fairy clans who always had a hostile relationship. The Sluaghs feared light; although Brian’s family wasn’t pure fairy, it was hard to believe that the Aurora fairies were actually attacked.
“The Sluaghs were originally the kind of unseelie that were abundant on the island, but they have been more active recently and are increasing in number, leaving the island twice as desolated.  Because humans killed by the Sluaghs will become Sluaghs too, this vicious cycle cannot be stopped.”
Whenever Patrick mentioned the Sluaghs, he would frown deeply.
“You mean the evil deeds of the Sluaghs were also done with the Prophet’s enemies?”
“That’s right, everything was done by the Prince of Calamity. The Prince originally intended for our island to become a lair of evil spirits.”
Prince?
Hearing that name unexpectedly,  Lydia tried to hide her restlessness.
— The Prince of Calamity? This was the same name of the old enemy that killed Edgar’s family.
“If you want to confront the Prince of Calamity, you can only draw support from the Prophet’s strength. If you want to save the Earl and Brian, there is no alternative way.”
If they were both referring to the same ‘Prince’, then Ulysses’ black demon dogs appeared and were watching Edgar and Brian.
“Miss Lydia, please help the McKeel family. If this goes on, the Earl Ashenbert will be taken advantage of, and will become a manipulated person who will murder fairies with the sword. I beg you, this is in order to save the Earl.”
Just like Patrick said, if Lydia was able to do anything for Edgar, then this was probably the only thing she could do. 
“But...”
But for Lydia, becoming the Prophet’s ‘fiancée’ was really too difficult.
As if he understood what she meant, Patrick nodded.
“...Because this cannot be described in detail to unrelated people, I never explained it, but in fact, waking up the Prophet and marriage, these two things are unrelated. After simply waiting for the prophet to awaken, a woman as the ‘fiancée’ has to demonstrate the ability to communicate with fairies together with the Prophet, thus bringing about the fiancée’s existence. After all, it wouldn’t be too likely for a woman with a husband or child to accompany the Prophet’s side all the time. However, Miss Lydia, I understand that I can’t help but ask you to accomplish this sort of condition, thus is it possible to ask you to help awaken the Prophet?”
“I really don’t need to get married?”
“Wait a minute, Lydia. I apologize, Mr. Patrick, can we really believe what you say? Once on the island, the people there are all from the McKeel family, forcing Lydia to obey you would be very simple, right?”
Father intervened on the topic.
Indeed, if she completely believed in Patrick and went to the island, being forced to marry afterwards would certainly be troublesome.
However, I want to save Edgar.
“Professor Carlton, marriage is a sacred matter. It would be impossible to carry out without Lydia’s consent.”
“Even so, this is not something that should be hastily decided......”
“There’s no time, the next full moon is a one-time opportunity in nineteen years.”
There was only one week left. Lydia began to worry.
“...If you miss this opportunity, then you have to wait another nineteen years to be able to approach the Prophet?”
“There is no mistake. On the night the moon sinks farthest to the south, the road leading to the sacred land will open. I ask that you enter the passage to the sacred land and open the coffin with the sleeping Prophet, that way the Prophet will awaken.”
“I only have to do that, correct?”
“Yes, the only one who is able to open the coffin is a woman of the McKeel clan who inherited the fairy clan’s bloodline.”
“Lydia, are you willing to do this?”
Father seemed worried by the progression of the conversation.
“Father, they are Mother’s relatives after all, I don’t think they will harm us.”
“Will the Prophet really wake up if the coffin is opened?”
Father spoke, still sounding as if he did not trust Patrick.
“On that day, the magic will rise to a certain degree, so as long as that power there is absorbed, the Prophet will wake up.”
“I’ve heard that when the McKeel family is faced with a crisis, the Prophet will awaken out of its own accord.”
“That’s right. It’s just that what should we do, when the Prophet does not wake up through his own power? Perhaps it was predicted beforehand because this would’ve been conveyed by someone and passed down for generations. This is our one chance in nineteen years. Until now, we also didn’t expect having to depend on thinking of a way ourselves...... however, we cannot hesitate any longer on the island’s crisis.”
Lydia nodded in approval and believed that this was in order to save Edgar. 
If the Prophet was able to completely bury the Prince’s attempts together with his remaining organization, Edgar may truly be freed this time.
“Father, I’m going to the Hebrides.”

                                                                                                                       *

Edgar and the others advanced along the lakeside.
Although they had been walking for a long time, the night was not yet over.
“How long will it take to get to the human world?”
As Edgar asked Brian, the latter sat down on the spot suddenly, feeling dizzy.
Brian wrinkled his brow painfully, his complexion very pale.
Raven simply pulled Brian, wanting him to stand, but Edgar waved him off. 
Edgar crouched in front of Brian, noticing that the blood oozing from his arm had not dried up.
“The bleeding won’t stop? Maybe the demon dog’s tooth is in your arm.”
“Ah... that’s probably it.”
“It can’t be helped, we’ll rest here until sunrise.”
As long as it was illuminated with sunlight, the demon dog’s teeth will disappear and the bleeding will stop. But forcing him to keep walking could result in him losing his life. Edgar spoke as he took this into account.
Probably not expecting Edgar to say that, Brian looked at him in surprise. 
“Do you know how long it will be until sunrise?”
Edgar asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Will you last until then?”
“Depends on my luck. ”
In order to stop the blood from flowing out of the wound, Edgar wrapped a handkerchief around Brian’s arm. But Brian still looked with disgust at Edgar, who was helping him.
And then they could only wait. Edgar moved slightly away from Brian, sitting down on a rock. Raven stood beside Edgar, seeming to think that it was where he ought to stay, and as if wanting to keep a close watch, he turned towards Brian.
After everyone fell silent, their surroundings were absolutely quiet; there wasn’t even the sound of wind, nor the presence of birds or small animals.
At first glance, this place was very similar to the human world, but one could feel that fairy realm was full of mystery. 
The slight rustle of clothing interrupted the tranquility as Raven took something out of his pocket.
Raven seemed to be concerned as he looked the bright black stone.
“Raven, what is that?”
“I found it in the woods.”
Edgar gazed at the stone that Raven showed him. From it’s round and polished shape, he recognised it to be a bloodstone. 
“Could this be Nico’s bloodstone?”
“Surely enough it is, I noticed that it appeared that Mr. Nico had dropped it, so I picked it up.”
“If you return it to him, he will surely be very happy.”
“Yes.”
He carefully put it into his pocket once more. Raven had the usual blank expression, but if he felt happy because he helped Nico, then compared to before when he cared only about Edgar, he had already grown a lot.
“....Bloodstone?”
Although he looked to be in a lot of pain, Brian still raised his head.
“Hey, is that the real thing? If that’s the case, then please lend it to me. it can replenish an Aurora fairy’s blood as long as it’s held in the hand.”
Raven glanced at Brian, clearly having no intention of taking the object out of his pocket.
“This belongs to Mr. Nico.”
“....I’ll give it back to you, and it won’t go missing......!”
Brian raised his voice, speaking halfway and exhausting his strength as a result. He pressed against his arm and hung his head.
“Raven, lend it to him.”
Edgar said and Raven finally handed the bloodstone to Brian.
He held the stone firmly and took deep breaths, and subsequently his tightly knit brows relaxed. For him, he had made what appeared to be a narrow escape from death.  
Raven still glared at Brian sharply, seemingly keeping a close watch over him, not letting him hide Nico’s bloodstone.
Brian still did not have the energy to notice Raven’s gaze towards him, which was filled with murderous intent. 
“Edgar, I didn’t expect you to be so friendly, is it because I might be your brother?”
Despite that, he already appeared to have the strength to speak.
“You’re not Lydia’s brother.”
“Then is it because if I’m not here, you can’t leave the fairy realm? No, even if I wasn’t here, the Prince’s comrades would come and save you. If that’s the case, what are you planning to do with me? By first allowing me to live, do you intend to make me bring you to the sacred land of the Prophet......? As soon as that matter is over, will you then kill me? Using that terrible sword.”
“It’s because I don’t want to hand Lydia over to the McKeel clan that I’m using you, so if you die now, it would be troublesome. This has nothing to do with the Prince.”
Edgar replied calmly.
He will bury the Prophet for good. He had come to this decision at Lydia’s mother’s grave. From that point on, Edgar was inexplicably calm. 
His purpose was decided long ago, and Lydia’s mother was willing to bless him as he was.
Edgar truly felt that way.
Even if Brian thought that Edgar was the Prince’s subordinate, even if doing as such would benefit the Prince’s organization in reality, Edgar’s heart was no longer hesitant. 
“You know very well about the demon dogs’ fangs, because you are allies with those guys, right?”
“It’s because I’ve been bitten, a tooth entered my body, and I suffered a lot.”
Brian still looked at him suspiciously.
“I have nearly been killed by the Prince several times. Many of my comrades were also murdered, and only Raven survived.”
With his tone of voice sounding too relaxed, Edgar knew that other people who heard this wouldn’t believe it.
However, Lydia had sensed Edgar’s pain from the beginning and desperately tried to save Edgar who concealed a major lie from her. 
“When I was captured by the Prince, it was Lord Edgar who saved me.”
Brian briefly turned to Raven as he spoke, finding his eyes staring sharply at Nico’s blood stone, and then quickly looked away. 
“You mean... you guys are enemies of the Prince? If that’s the case then, why did the demon dogs protect you?”
“Who knows? The demon dogs should be under the command of another human. Didn’t you see that they weren’t listening to my commands at all? How would I know what their master is thinking?”
“....But the sword that killed them is an unseelie sword. I heard Patrick say that you killed a Trow, originally I was doubtful, but it seems to be true. For humans to even be able use the powers of unseelie court.....”
Brian began to tremble. 
“You were begging me for help at the time. If I didn’t have that sword, then you would be bitten to death. And yet, you still take me as a bad guy?”
Brian was taken aback as he looked up, as if he was aware of this fact just now, and so he began to waver. 
“....That’s.... but, those who are able to directly handle the forces of unseelie are only the Prince of Calamity and the people involved with him.”
“Can you be sure of that? The Prince of Calamity was created by someone, if it’s something that’s able to be passed down between humans,so even if there was another similar human, it wouldn’t be strange.”
Brian furrowed his brow in thought, as if he was trying to differentiate what represented the absolute evil of Prince to him, and what did not.
“This is impossible, being able to obtain the way of the unseelie magic secrets is an extremely strict method passed down from generation to generation. Although there are only three families who know the method, with regards to any clan, using that sort of knowledge is taboo, so it’s impossible for a human to appear who can manipulate unseelie magic.”
“Three families?”
“Since ancient times, they were clans who were closely affiliated with the fairies. One was the Connaught royal family of Ireland*, this was a clan which had become a myth long ago; then came the Blue Knight Earl of Ibrazel’s family, but they disappeared three hundred years later. ”
The Blue Knight Earl’s family also knew the method of obtaining the secrets of the Unseelie magic? Even if it was like this, it wasn’t surprising, after all, the first Earl had sealed half of the sword’s magic in order to prevent him and his children from using that knowledge.
“Then what about the other family?”
Brian spoke halfway and slowly began unwilling to continue on, but Edgar urged him.
“The last one to remain.... is the McKeel clan of the Highlands.”
“Could it be that the one who created the Prince was......”
Brian chuckled. 
“That guy is the last person who knows the secrets of the unseelie court. Although he was once the McKeel clan’s fairy doctor, he rebelled against the clan and sought refuge with King James. During the war a hundred years ago, I heard that a subset of embittered people from the British army went into hiding and accumulated their knowledge of magic techniques to create the Prince of Calamity, despite losing.”
After the McKeel clan found out about this, they came up with a method dependant on the Prophet, presumably to protect the island from the rebels bringing about disaster. 
Brian gave an almost provocative look at Edgar, who was caught up in contemplation.
“Edgar, what method did you use to get the secrets of the unseelie? Apart from you having something to do with the Prince, there isn’t any other possibility, because there are no other people who know how to implement the secret method.”
“....The Blue Knight Earl family originally knew the secret method, isn’t that right? I am the Blue Knight Earl.”
“You’re not a true descendant of the Blue Knight Earl.”
Edgar looked at the Merrow’s sword, which was put aside. As long as no fairies were killed, the star sapphire sword will bear a gorgeous blue color, and the ruby’s scarlet color would be completely concealed.
“But this sword is still an item of the Blue Knight Earl’s family, this is a sword which originally possessed that kind of power, so it has nothing to do with the Prince.”
Edgar said mumbled, as if saying it for himself to hear.
“If the Prince is your enemy, then you should help us in order to awaken the Prophet.”
Edgar took hold of his sword. He held the sword out and stared at Brian, who immediately shrank back in horror.
“I have been fighting the Prince’s organization for a long time. Originally, I would blindly curse my fate, but after meeting Lydia, I finally found hope.”
Thus, he thought that as long as he could protect Lydia, he was even willing to take up the Prince’s memories.
No matter what conspiracies and turbulent karma were behind those memories, Edgar intended to bring the ‘Prince’ to the grave himself.  
“And so I apologize, whether it’s the Prince or your Prophet, they are both enemies to me.”
The sky which covered the forest slightly began to appear bright.
Dawn was approaching.

------
[1] Sluaghs are fairies from the Highlands, said to be formed from gathered souls of the deceased.

[2] The Connaught royal family of Ireland was one of the five ancient kingdoms.